Each Chrysler 200 Houses A Quiet Diss To General Motors

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Chrysler may have exited the mid-size sedan field with the early demise of the 200, but of the hundreds of thousands of second generation sedans roaming around, there’s an ever so slight diss to cross-town rival General Motors residing in each one.

The folks at FCA love easter eggs — have you sat in a new Jeep these days? Eggs everywhere. — and the 200 was not left out of the party. In the storage compartment ahead of the 200’s gear selector sits a rubber mat. The mat itself is etched with the skyline of Detroit, Michigan, but it’s curiously missing an essential component: the GM Renaissance Center.

The GM-shaming secret was first discovered by The Wall Street Journal, who brought the Renaissance Center’s absence up with Fiat Chrysler interior designer Klaus Busse. Busse confirmed the design was absolutely intentional and a cheeky shot at GM.

“Oh really, what a surprise,” Busse said. “What can I say, were happy with the part of Detroit that we picked.”

We’re not sure who gets the last laugh, though. Chrysler has since sent the 200 to an early death after FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne called the 200 one of “the least financially rewarding enterprises that we’ve carried out inside FCA in the last eight years.”

And if Marchionne wants to court GM for a potential merger, as unlikely as the idea is, this is no way to show your crush you like them.

I see alot of 200s driving around town. I think it’s a pretty nice looking car. I have never been in one but my guess is it was under powered and lacked an option for a V6. But cars in general are in decline because most people want SUV and cross overs.

I really like 200, it’s my favorite rental. A Motertrend writer compared it to Regal: Great handling, quiet ride, nice interior.
Malibu has better visibility, by far, but handling isn’t quite as good.
Sergio was short sighted killing 200. A midsizer is needed by dealers.

I have a Chrysler 200, I love it! It’s not as small as what it may look like on the outside, leather seats, Alpine touch screen stereo, fits my family comfortably and yes it does have power. I went from a 2006 Dodge Durango with all the bells and whistles, limited edition had the navigation system, DVD and Alpine stereo system, but it would cost me anywhere from $80 to $100 to fill it, I loved my Durango but the price for gas was ridiculous, my boys got older and we didn’t need all the bells and whistles anymore, they only used the DVD system 4 times, having a Hemi was great but like I said the price for gas it just wasn’t worth it anymore. So we went with a car that gives us great gas mileage.

This factoid is very old news, why report it now? By the way, I own a 2015 Chrysler 200C, and it’s the best car I’ve ever owned, which includes about 20 vehicles over a 50 year period, everything from Ford Pintos to Mercedes S Class. The Chrysler 200 didn’t sell, but that doesn’t mean they were poor vehicles. No problems in over 30,000 miles, AWD, 295HP, 8-speed transmission, and still averaging 26 MPG? Now that’s a good car.

My 2014 200 smokes anything on the road except vettes and hemis. It came with 295hp and all I did was change the airflow system to a KnN and added about 50 more hp. It’s true about the lack of space in the back but who cares. I just don’t have to drive all the time when we go out. I have 50,000 miles on it and have had no problems. Love it…….